Sunday, October 28, 2012

Support Labelling for Genetically Modified Foods

On November
6, 2012, California voters will be voting on Proposition 37.Proposition 37, if passed, would require food
labeling for genetically modified foods.A ‘yes’ vote would favor the new food labeling laws.

The European
Union as well as Japan and Australia require genetically modified organisms (GMO)
foods to be labeled.What is wrong with
informing us what is in the food we are buying?

You can
guess who is against the labeling of GMO foods.Big food companies such as Kellogg Co., Monsanto, Dupont, Pepsico, Kraft
Foods, Coco-Cola, Nestle, General Mills, H.J. Heinz, Hershey, and Ocean Spray
have donated millions of dollars to convince voters to vote ‘no’.

It is
unbelievable that food manufacturers are not required to label what is
in their products.Did you know that
approximately 93% of the soybeans, 90% of canola and 88% of corn grown in the U.S. are from genetically
modified (GM) crops?The question to
think about is, “Is there anything wrong with GM crops?

Soy has been
genetically modified to withstand the herbicide Roundup.GM soy plants are resistant to Roundup.Therefore, crops of GM soy crops can be
sprayed with copious amounts of Roundup to kill weeds and enhance the
yield.Unfortunately, the final product
containing this GM soy also contains the herbicide Roundup.

As a medical
doctor, I would highly advise you not to ingest any amount of Roundup if you
can avoid it.That sentence is stated
with some sarcasm as you don’t need to be a medical doctor to understand that eating
herbicides is probably not a good thing.

A recent
study showed that rats fed a lifetime of genetically modified corn suffered
tumors and damage to multiple organs. (1)GM corn is also resistant to Roundup and it is widely used on GM corn
crops.As I previousely stated, 88% of U.S. corn
crops are genetically modified.The
pictures below showed tumors that rats developed from eating trace amounts (at
levels legally allowed in the water supply) of Roundup.Furthermore, rats fed GM corn and traces of
Roundup suffered severe organ damage to the liver and kidneys.It is important to note that the GM corn used
in this study is produced at Monsanto and is widely used across the U.S.The end product of this GM corn is readily available
in many consumer products including cereals and chips.

I don’t know
about you, but I would prefer not to eat food that has herbicides in it.And, I would also like to know if the food I
am buying is genetically modified.Unfortunately,
our government doesn’t seeit this way
as food companies are not required to list GM ingredients on food labels.This is yet another example of our government
not working for us.If the government
worked for us, it would be a no-brainer to properly label GM-containing
products so that we, the consumers, can decide whether we want to ingest those
products.

However, we
have a chance to win one if California voters pass Proposition 37.There is absolutely no reason not to pass
it---we are just asking for transparency in food labels.It this passes in California, proper food labeling
will eventually come to the rest of the country.

I have
donated money to the Organic Consumers Fund in support of this bill.Monsanto and other companies, who do not want
labeling of GM foods, have been blitzing California with ads against this
proposition.I encourage you to consider
donating to the Organic Consumers Fund to fight back.You can go here to find more
information:http://organicconsumersfund.org/donate/david-goliath.cfm.I have no financial obligations with this
group.